Coming to the Still Waters

Here is a picture for some beauty around our house.  Some great new friends purchased 6 of these mums which are opening more blossoms each day.  Here are the other two! But " mum " is not the word for what happened to me this last week.  This is an FYI for anyone who it might benefit.  Some people were getting texts saying it was me and asking for help in the form of gift cards.  The person saying they were me would only continue to talk via text if the conversation continued.  At first I thought I was being hacked and so I went about changing all of my passwords but then my investigating mind went into overdrive.  Those contacted were only of a certain group.  Some of those contacted I did not have their contact information.  What was common with those being contacted? What happened was someone went onto the church website and pulled my name as the pastor of this church.  Next, they proceeded to text every number that was on the website...

  Our passage today deals with the relationship created by God that shows to our world a picture of God's love for us.  This relationship can be a picture to others of the type of love Christians should be displaying to each other.  The marriage relationship following God's instruction is a powerful witness of God's love for us through His Son Jesus Christ.  Strong marriages based off of following God's instruction transforms home environments, affects church dynamics, and impacts community stability.  This might sound pretty grand but God puts a lot of weight on this relationship He has created to the impact it can have on others. Peter keeps digging deeper into the command to "love one another earnestly from a pure heart." (1 Peter 1.22b)  All of us are to be subject to for the Lord's sake (God focus).  Servants are to be subject to with all respect (God focus).  Wives are to be subject to with a respectful and pure conduct (God focus).  Hu...

  "The Church is not supposed to be a substitute   but rather a supplement   to the home substance ." This was the basis for the sermon this Sunday speaking about the Christian education mandate found in the Scriptures.  The mandate is directed not at the church but rather the home environment.  Hopefully the encouragement was given to continue on, re-start, or start following the instructions to impress and teach our children and grandchildren about our great God. It is important to see in the mandates that 3 generations are mentioned.  You, your children and their children are listed so we see that our scope of this responsibility starts before there are children in the home, while there are children in the home, and after the children have left the home and bring now into the home our grandchildren.  To impress is to have action-oriented ways of teaching about God.  To talk is to have vocal instruction-oriented ways to teaching about God....